A Dorking decorator has been prosecuted for criminal damage after digging up grass during a protest in Parliament Square.

Steve McDonald, of Vincent Road, was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 29 of criminal damage, along with fellow activist Paul Enock from London.

The pair were attempting to bury a coffin as part of an Extinction Rebellion protest last November “to symbolise the death of our hopes for future life on earth”.

At an earlier hearing at Hendon Magistrates’ Court, their barrister, Emma Foubister, said the pair were pleading not guilty because they had a “lawful excuse” for their actions, the damage was “minimal and temporary” and their protest was “reasonable and proportionate”.